The proposed project is an epidemiologic study of back pain in hospital nursing personnel. Health workers, and particularly nursing personnel, have been reported to have a higher risk of back injury than other occupational groups. Episodes of back pain in nursing personnel affect not only the well-being of the sufferers, but also, by causing sickness absences or restricted job activities, impinge on the hospital's ability to care for its patients. The specific aims of the proposed research are the identification and quantification of personal and workplace characteristics associated with new and recurrent episodes of back pain. Accomplishment of these aims will be useful toward the long-term goal of developing, implementing, and evaluating programs for prevention of back injury and reduction of disability from back pain. The project is a survey follow-up study, which combines features of the cross-sectional and the cohort study. Hospital nursing personnel will be surveyed by questionnaire to determine demographic characteristics, health history, occupational history, and characteristics of current job, and history of back pain. In addition, the frequency of sickness absence and work-related job injuries will be monitored. Participation of nursing departments of Mount Sinai affiliated hospitals will be invited. To date, Mount Sinai and the Hospital for Joint Diseases/Orthopaedic Institute, which include approximately 2000 nursing personnel, will participate. This represents a sample of sufficient size to detect factors associated with moderately increased risk of back pain.